last days

How Will God Finish His Work? Part I

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A most vital and important subject to discuss is the title of this article—“How Will God Finish His Work?” We are Seventh-day Adventists. Whether we are in a self-supporting work, an independent ministry, denominational work, or a home church, as long as we believe and follow the foundational principle beliefs of true, original, historic Seventh-day Adventism, then we are true Seventh-day Adventists.

One thing of which we may be sure is that God is going to take the reins into His own hands. Ellen White penned: “There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 299. She continued, “The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.” Ibid.

Personally, I believe the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached to all of the parts of the world already. Does this shock you? Allow me to repeat that: I believe with all my personal convictions that the gospel of the kingdom of God, as Jesus Christ promised, has been already preached in all the parts of the world. The next thing to come is the end!

I believe that. Do you know why I believe that? I want to tell you why through this article. Jesus Christ is coming soon. There is no doubt about that whatsoever. God is doing something tremendous nowadays, and many Adventists are not really aware of it.

How will God finish His work? From the November 22, 1906, Review and Herald, we read:

“Earthquakes, tempests, tidal waves, pestilence, and famine have multiplied. The most awful destructions, by fire and flood, are following one another in quick succession. The terrible disasters that are taking place from week to week speak to us in earnest tones of warning, declaring that the end is near, that something great and decisive will soon of necessity take place.” The increase of natural disasters is well-known to each one of us.

Statistics

Recent statistics have reported that the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church has raised up one church in every four days of the last decade. Approximately 2,700 baptisms have occurred every day throughout the world. I do not know whether or not those 2,700 individuals are all truly converted people. Only God knows, but according to some reports, probably they are not.

Interestingly enough, after relating those statistics, the mission department at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, has said that Jesus will not come within 500 years if the evangelistic efforts continue at the pace it is going now. Do you understand what they are saying? They are absolutely right. If we continue our evangelistic efforts at the current pace, Jesus Christ cannot come soon. How can we prepare for and hasten His Second Coming at the slow pace we are moving, as far as evangelism is concerned?

They are saying that the church has been baptizing 2,700 souls every day. Oh, big deal! More than 350,000 babies are coming into the world every day. We cannot even keep up with the natural growth of the population of the world.

Do you understand that about which I am talking? This is the situation we are in, but God has a different way to spread His gospel and to finish His work. Praise His name for His plan!

Time Past

In Mrs. White’s time, which was 100 or 150 years ago, the church had a small number of missionaries reaching out to fewer regions of the world than we do now. However, the Spirit of Prophecy has always been proclaiming that the Lord’s coming is at hand. Upon what basis does she say that?

“At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.” Early Writings, 85, 86.

It is very obvious that the reason Mrs. White said that was because of the power of the latter rain, the loud cry. That is the only hope for you and me to see Jesus Christ coming in the sky. This is the only hope that we have as the church of God.

“I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. . . . I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’ ” Ibid., 271.

When that time comes, we will be surprised how simple will be the methodology God is using—very simple means and simple people. He is going to finish His work, and we will go home.

Holy Spirit Outpouring

“The world seemed to be lightened with the heavenly influence. Great blessings were received by the true and humble people of God. I heard voices of thanksgiving and praise, and there seemed to be a reformation such as we witnessed in 1844.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 126. The phenomena we heard about 1844 are going to be repeated, even more, even better, even more powerful by the Holy Spirit.

“Before the work is closed up and the sealing of God’s people is finished, we shall receive the outpouring of the Spirit of God. Angels from heaven will be in our midst. The present is a fitting-up time for heaven when we must walk in full obedience to all the commands of God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 111.

Before the outpouring of the latter rain, the Holy Spirit, you and I must walk in full, not partial, obedience to all of the commands of God. She did not even say commandments, but she says commands. That includes some other admonitions of God.

Not Our Own Power

Is our standard such a high standard? Yes, it is. It is possible to reach the standard, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ dwelling within us. We need to be rescued every day from our own sinful natures. We need to be delivered from our own weaknesses every day; otherwise we cannot do it. We must possess the heart and the mind of Jesus Christ. Without the mind of Jesus Christ, how can we exercise the faith of Jesus—the faith that Jesus Christ lived when He was here for 33 years?

Two Seals

Read Revelation 7:1–4: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

There are two different kinds of seals in the Bible. The seal of the Holy Spirit is a seal for the conversion experience. Everyone must have the seal of God, which is the Holy Spirit seal. But this passage is talking about the seal of the living God. The seal of the living God is only for the last generation. When we go through the Sunday law crisis, then God is going to give us the seal of the living God. It has to do with the observing and keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Sabbath Experience

What is the Sabbath keeping experience? Many people think when they come to the church on the seventh-day Sabbath that they are keeping the Sabbath. That is far from the truth! Many Adventists who are keeping the seventh-day Sabbath will receive the mark of the beast at the end.

Keeping the Sabbath is an experience; it is not only keeping the Saturday. Many people are keeping the Saturday, not the Sabbath. Sabbath is our outward seal, the outward appearance for the inward righteous experience, as the circumcision was the outward sign for the inward experience of faith in Abraham. God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised, so circumcision was only an outward expression of his obedience to all that God said.

Seventh-day Sabbath keeping is only an outward sign that we obey God’s Word. It is a sign that we obey and follow His commandments in our hearts. It is not just attending church, sitting and listening to the sermon, and singing and praying. It is far from that.

When we go into the Sabbath experience we must stop sinning. We must rest in God’s power of creation, and then we rest in Him. God’s people must have a rest experience in Jesus Christ; then we will have a true Sabbath keeping experience. When we have that and the Sunday law comes, there is no fear. We are going to go through and show an outward sign of what we have inside. We have faith in Jesus Christ.

When you walk into church on the seventh-day Sabbath, which is Saturday, you are declaring to the world two things:

  1. You are saying to the world that you believe God is the Creator and that He created this world in six literal days. That is one thing you are proclaiming.
  2. You are also stating that if God has that kind of power, He is able to change you and re-create you as a new person, so that you can obey His commandments.

We are silently declaring these two things to the world as we go to church on the seventh-day Sabbath. Friends, that is the seal of the living God in our foreheads. It is very important to understand.

Now, if you have that Sabbath experience, you are not going to discuss politics or business on Sabbath. You will not want to—not because you are restraining yourself from it, but because you do not want to. You want to honor God. You love Him; you want to serve Him and please Him. That should be your motivation for celebrating the Sabbath. He is delivering you from your sins. That is the celebration of the Sabbath experience.

Firstfruits

The seal of God is going to be placed on the 144,000, the Bible says—on all the tribes of the children of Israel. Revelation 14:4, 5 says, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

This is the Day of Atonement experience. Simply stated, our sins are going to be blotted out. When we stand before the Commandments of God, those commandments will not find any fault in our lives, not because we have not sinned, but because we have confessed and have forsaken our sins. We forsook them by the grace of God, and we do not repeat them anymore, because we hate sin. We must stand before God without a mediator, and that time is going to come very soon, whether you believe it or not. It is coming.

“Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose, and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path. . . .

“I tell you in the name of the Lord God of Israel that all injurious, discouraging influences are held in control by unseen angel hands, until everyone that works in the fear and love of God is sealed in his forehead.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 409.

To be continued . . .

Pastor David Kang is Director of Light for Life Ministry operating out of Hartwell, Georgia. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang also frequently travels to Asia where he trains pastors who often work “underground.” Pastor Kang may be contacted by telephone at: 706-377-1004.

How Will God Finish His Work? Part II

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Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose, and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path. . . .

“I tell you in the name of the Lord God of Israel that all injurious, discouraging influences are held in control by unseen angel hands, until everyone that works in the fear and love of God is sealed in his forehead.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 409.

If you study this carefully, Ellen White is talking about firstfruits. You may read about firstfruits in Revelation 14. The 144,000 are called firstfruits. Why? In the Old Testament, the Levitical feast days and customs were observed. When the harvest was ready, the farmers would not harvest their crops until a sheaf of the firstfriuts had been waved before the Lord by the High Priest. (Leviticus 23:10, 11.)

“From the harvest fields the first heads of ripened grain were gathered, and when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of firstfruits was waved as a thank offering before the Lord. Not until this was presented could the sickle be put to the grain, and it be gathered into sheaves.” The Desire of Ages, 786.

That offering was waved up and down, up and down, as the Lord’s acceptance of the firstfruits was sought. The firstfruits offering was brought with the query, Lord, are they ripened correctly? Are these firstfruits acceptable unto Thee? When God accepted that firstfruits offering, the harvest could then proceed.

So it is that the harvest must have one condition: the firstfruits must be approved. Spiritually speaking, that has to do with the understanding of the truth and sanctification by the truth. One must not only know the truth intellectually but also spiritually. That is why Mrs. White said that the sealing experience is a settling into the truth in two ways, intellectually and spiritually, so that we will not be moved anymore.

“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved—just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1161.

The Harvest

We must understand the truth and know what it is. We must be deeply grounded spiritually. We must experience the truth. When we experience the truth, we will then be sealed in our foreheads. Then, God is going to ready the firstfruits, bundled up, offered, and accepted. The High Priest will direct the harvest to commence. All of the tares will be taken out and burned, and the wheat will be taken into the storage.

Jesus Christ is still lingering and waiting in the heavenly sanctuary because the firstfruits are not ready. The Bible says the 144,000 are the firstfruits. As you study history, Jesus Christ was the firstfruits, was He not? Twelve disciples were the firstfruits. About 120 people in the upper room were the firstfruits, and, as you continue down through the ages, other firstfruits may be identified, but at the end, God must have 144,000 who are sealed with the seal of the living God, who have the true Sabbath-keeping experience.

No Fakes Accepted

If you truly keep the Sabbath, you can keep all of the other nine commandments. How can you keep the Sabbath while you are coveting? How can you keep the Sabbath while you are committing adultery? How can you keep the Sabbath when you hate someone? How can you truly keep the Sabbath while you are not obeying the other commandments, while you have idols in your heart? How can you keep the Sabbath, let alone go to church and pretend that you love Jesus Christ? Oh, you can pretend it; you can fake it, but faking cannot be accepted by God.

The seal of the living God is the Sabbath-keeping experience, because that is the outward sign for our inner experience with Jesus. We must become firstfruits, and then Jesus will let the four winds loose. This life then will soon be finished, and we will go home.

Winds Loosed

“The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 408.

“The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity she will have to do in a terrible crisis under most discouraging, forbidding circumstances.” Ibid., vol. 5, 463.

I tell you, Adventist churches are boasting about their growth, but in many, many of their programs, they are following the growth programs of Babylonian churches, which is devastating. To follow and implement those programs, the churches must lower the standard of righteousness and truth in order to accommodate the people who are not ready to come in. Many times we are increasing our future persecutors within the church.

I say this because I love God’s people, and I pray that someone may read my article or hear a sermon I preach and maybe think again.

Happenings of Our Time

Sometimes I receive Signs and Wonders for Our Times, a Catholic magazine. (Signs and Wonders for Our Times, Herndon, Virginia.) It features articles about all the signs of Jesus’ coming, keeping God’s Commandments, miracles of supernatural power of the Virgin Mary, and even about Satan talking about Jesus’ coming and about his keeping God’s Commandments. Interesting!

Recently, some conservative groups have started saying that God’s judgment day is 2007!

Recently we have heard and seen a great controversy over the display of the Ten Commandments in public places, especially in government buildings. Tremendous things are happening.

Even though the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments being displayed says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” when someone in the secular world refers to this, they are talking about the Sunday.

Have you ever heard about Christian Churches Together (C.C.T.)? This ecumenical movement states on its web site that, “34 churches and national Christian organizations, representing over 100 million Americans, have officially formed the broadest, most inclusive fellowship of Christian churches and traditions in the U.S.A.” Formed in January 2003, it is a significant force now. It is pushing for the Sunday law. Incidentally, this organization was initiated by a Catholic priest.

To All The World

Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

I do believe this gospel of the kingdom has been preached to all the world already. Why do I believe this? In Colossians 1:23, the apostle Paul said, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

He said, very plainly, “The gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached.” That is already past tense, right? “Was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Is that not clear? This gospel has been preached to everybody under heaven once before.

Upon what basis did he say this? He did not say, “The gospel of the kingdom of God persuaded everyone.” Nor did he say, “The gospel of the kingdom of God convinced everyone.” What he did say is, “This gospel of the kingdom has been scattered so widely in the world, at this time, that if there is anyone, even on an island or on a mountainside, who is really sincerely seeking for the truth, he can look around and find it.”

So the gospel and truth have been scattered that much! That is what he was talking about. In the same sense, the same principle, I tell you that I believe that the Three Angels’ Messages have been preached to all the parts of the world. Any person who is sincerely seeking for the truth and prays to God can look around and find it. Those living in any country in the world can do this.

If you do not understand this, you do not understand that God is doing wondrous things in the world. He is making sure that this gospel of the kingdom is being made ready, so, as the firstfruits appear, He can seal them and say, “Let us go and harvest.”

Read Leviticus 23:10, 11: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”

“Genuine conversion is needed, not once in years, but daily. . . . Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted.” Our High Calling, 215. There are those who will say, “Oh, I was converted and born again two years ago.” You must be converted every day, by the grace of God.

“Excitement is not sanctification. Entire conformity to the will of our Father which is in heaven is alone sanctification, and the will of God is expressed in His holy law. The keeping of all the commandments of God is sanctification. Proving yourselves obedient children to God’s Word is sanctification. The Word of God is to be our guide, not the opinions or ideas of men.” Review and Herald, March 25, 1902.

A Finished Work

But, how will God finish this work?

  1. By simple methods.

“God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 300.

  1. By wonderful workings of divine providence.

“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.” The Great Controversy, 612.

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he [Satan] will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence.” Ibid., 589, 590.

Allow me to illustrate. Suppose that there is a tremendous earthquake in your area today. It registers as a 9.5 earthquake on the Richter scale. Every building is collapsed, and many, many people are killed, yet you are safe. Do you know what would happen? All of the media would surround you; helicopters would swarm above you. They will come from every direction and will start to ask you questions: “What kind of person are you? What kind of God are you worshipping? What do you believe? There is tremendous devastation all around this area. What is happening?”

Do you think you would be a testimony? Yes, you definitely would be. Do you think all of the world would watch you? Just think, your testimony would receive free airtime throughout the world. God is going to use very wonderful workings of divine providence that His truth will be known to the people.

  1. With the help of the holy angels.

In the Book of Acts, you may read about the assistance of holy angels. The same thing is going to take place in our time. Angels are going to come to us in the form of humanity to aid us.

“When divine power is combined with human effort, the work will spread like fire in the stubble. God will employ agencies whose origin man will be unable to discern; angels will do a work which men might have had the blessing of accomplishing, had they not neglected to answer the claims of God.” Review and Herald, December 15, 1885.

God is going to finish this work in His own way.

  1. With the help of the eleventh hour workers. This is very important.

“God has children, many of them, in the Protestant churches, and a large number in the Catholic churches, who are more true to obey the light and to do [to] the very best of their knowledge than a large number among Sabbathkeeping Adventists who do not walk in the light. The Lord will have the message of truth proclaimed, that Protestants may be warned and awakened to the true state of things, and consider the worth of the privilege of religious freedom which they have long enjoyed.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 386. Do you need to read this paragraph again?

“There are many souls to come out of the ranks of the world, out of the churches—even the Catholic Church—whose zeal will far exceed that of those who have stood in rank and file to proclaim the truth heretofore. For this reason the eleventh hour laborers will receive their penny.” Ibid., 386, 387.

Eleventh hour workers are the people who are going to come out from the Babylonian churches. In Matthew 20, Jesus Christ said that this work is going to be finished by the eleventh hour workers in the vineyard. Eleventh hour workers are going to come in to help us.

“These will see the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. When the crisis is upon us, when the season of calamity shall come, they will come to the front, gird themselves with the whole armor of God, and exalt His law, adhere to the faith of Jesus [another expression of keeping God’s Commandments and having the faith of Jesus], and maintain the cause of religious liberty which reformers defended with toil and for which they sacrificed their lives.” Ibid., 387.

Eleventh hour workers are outside right now, and God is going to bring them to the harvest to finish the work so that we can go home. When God takes the reins into His own hands, He is going to use simple people and simple methods, and it is going to take no time at all. He has to finish the work, and we have to let Him. How? You and I must become firstfruits.

Pastor David Kang is Director of Light for Life Ministry operating out of Hartwell, Georgia. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang also frequently travels to Asia where he trains pastors who often work “underground.” Pastor Kang may be contacted by telephone at: 706-377-1004.

Editorial – Unity and Dissonance, Part IV

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In the Steps to Life staff worship each workday morning, we have recently been reading the many testimonies of Ellen White, which were sent as letters to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and are published in volume 8 of Testimonies for the Church.

Dr. Kellogg was the leader who attempted to introduce pantheism into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He might have been successful if there had not been a living prophet at that time. Few people in the church today realize how many leaders in Adventism accepted all or parts of this theory. It was in regard to these developments that Ellen White wrote, “In the book Living Temple [authored by Dr. Kellogg] there is presented the alpha of deadly heresies. The omega will follow, and will be received by those who are not willing to heed the warning God has given.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 200.

“Be not deceived; many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega will be of a most startling nature.” Ibid., 197. We are warned, “many will depart from the faith.” Will you be one of them, or will you be among those who will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I have kept the faith,” 11 Timothy 4:7? Most of those who depart from the faith do not know it.

Ellen White described it as follows: “The developments of these last days will soon become decided. When these spiritualistic deceptions are revealed to be what they really are,—the secret workings of evil spirits,—those who have acted a part in them will become as men who have lost their minds. . . .

“The world is to be flooded with specious fallacies. One human mind, accepting these fallacies, will work upon other human minds, who have been turning the precious evidence of God’s truth into a lie. These men will be deceived by fallen angels, when they should have stood as faithful guardians, watching for souls, as they that must give an account. They have laid down the weapons of their warfare, and have given heed to seducing spirits. They make of no effect the counsel of God and set aside His warnings and reproofs, and are positively on Satan’s side. . . .

“A marvelous work shall take place. Ministers, lawyers, doctors, who have permitted these falsehoods to overmaster their spirit of discernment, will be themselves deceivers, united with the deceived. A spiritual drunkenness will take possession of them. . . .

“Some who have been deceived by men in responsible places will repent, and be converted. And in all our dealings with them, we must remember that none of those who are in the depth of Satan’s snares know that they are there. . . .

“Those who are bound in Satan’s coils are the most confident and the most boastful. They will protest at the thought that they are ensnared, yet it is the truth.” Battle Creek Letters, 124–128. [Emphasis added.]

There is only one way for us to avoid being snared in these last days. We must humble ourselves on our knees before God, asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we study the Bible, comparing Scripture with Scripture. “Brethren, cling to your Bible, as it reads, and stop your criticisms in regard to its validity, and obey the Word, and not one of you will be lost.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 18.

How does the Bible read? (Have you checked carefully in your concordances the meaning of each Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic word before accepting new teachings?) What does it say? What is the weight of evidence? Are there any texts of Scripture that say something different than does a new teaching? If there are, it is time to be more than just cautious, because truth never contradicts itself even in a single instance. Have you counseled with Christians of experience before accepting new teachings? If not, how do you know that you will not be deceived as have millions of others?

Bible Study Guides – The Millennium

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September 16, 2007 – September 22, 2007

Key Text

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:1, 2.

Study Help: The Story of Redemption, 415, 416; The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 470-475.

Introduction

“All will be tested and tried according to the light they have had. Those who turn from the truth to fables can look for no second probation. There will be no temporal millennium. If, after the Holy Spirit has brought conviction to their hearts, they resist the truth and use their influence to block the way so that others will not receive it, they will never be convinced. They did not seek for transformation of character in the probation given them, and Christ will not give them opportunity to pass over the ground again. The decision is a final one.” Last Day Events, 237. [Emphasis added.]

“Taking the manner in which the prophecies had been fulfilled in the past as a criterion by which to judge of the fulfillment of those which were still future, he [William Miller] became satisfied that the popular view of the spiritual reign of Christ a temporal millennium before the end of the world was not sustained by the word of God. This doctrine, pointing to a thousand years of righteousness and peace before the personal coming of the Lord, put far off the terrors of the day of God. But, pleasing though it may be, it is contrary to the teachings of Christ and His apostles, who declared that the wheat and the tares are to grow together until the harvest, the end of the world; that ‘evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse’; that ‘in the last days perilous times shall come’; and that the kingdom of darkness shall continue until the advent of the Lord and shall be consumed with the spirit of His mouth and be destroyed with the brightness of His coming. Matthew 13:30, 38-41; 11 Timothy 3:13, 1; 11 Thessalonians 2:8.

“The doctrine of the world’s conversion and the spiritual reign of Christ was not held by the apostolic church. It was not generally accepted by Christians until about the beginning of the eighteenth century. Like every other error, its results were evil. It taught men to look far in the future for the coming of the Lord and prevented them from giving heed to the signs heralding His approach. It induced a feeling of confidence and security that was not well founded and led many to neglect the preparation necessary in order to meet their Lord.” The Great Controversy, 321.

1 What events are connected with the millennium? What marks the beginning of that period? Revelation 20:1, 2, 4, 5.

note: “The life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first resurrection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 271.

“The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years.” The Great Controversy, 658.

2 What causes the dead to be raised? John 5:28, 29. When will the Lord’s voice be heard? 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

note: “ ‘The hour is coming,’ Christ said, ‘in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.’ [John 5:28, 29.] That voice is to resound through all the habitations of the dead; and every saint who sleeps in Jesus will awake and leave his prison-house.” Review and Herald, September 20, 1898.

“The earth mightily shook as the voice of the Son of God called forth the sleeping saints. They responded to the call and came forth clothed with glorious immortality, crying, ‘Victory, victory, over death and the grave! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ [1 Corinthians 15:55.]” Early Writings, 287.

3 What is said of the dead who rise at the first resurrection? 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:6.

note: “Oh, what a scene will we then see some coming forth to life eternal at the first resurrection! Upon them the second death shall have no power. . . . I dwell with pleasure upon the resurrection of the just, who shall come forth from all parts of the earth, from rocky caverns, from dungeons, from caves of the earth, from the waters of the deep not one is overlooked. Every one shall hear His voice. They will come forth with triumph and victory.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 342.

“At the first resurrection all came forth in immortal bloom.” Early Writings, 292.

“During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. . . . At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God.” The Great Controversy, 660, 661.

4 Just before the Lord appears, what decree goes forth? Revelation 22:11, 12. Then can there be any conversions during the thousand years?

note: “[Revelation 22:11, 12 quoted.] When this fiat goes forth, every case will have been decided.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 418.

“The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above. . . . Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men.” The Great Controversy, 491.

5 What change will be wrought in the righteous who are living at that time? 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. What will they do when they meet the resurrected ones? 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

note: “When mortal shall have put on immortality, the ransomed ones are like Jesus, for they see Him as He is. They stand before the throne, signifying that they are accepted. All their sins are blotted out, all their transgressions borne away. Now they can look upon the undimmed glory from the throne of God. They have been partakers with Christ of His sufferings, they have been workers together with Him in the plan of redemption, and they are partakers with Him in the joy of beholding souls saved through their instrumentality to praise God through all eternity.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 467.

6 To what place has Jesus promised to take the saints? John 14:1-3.

note: “Those who have loved Him [Christ] and waited for Him, He will crown with glory and honor and immortality. The righteous dead will come forth from their graves, and those who are alive will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. They will hear the voice of Jesus, sweeter than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, saying to them, Your warfare is accomplished. ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Matthew 25:34.” The Acts of the Apostles, 34.

7 What will the living wicked do when they see Jesus in the clouds? Revelation 6:15-17. Why should they cry for the mountains to fall on them? 11 Thessalonians 1:7, 8.

note: “Riches, power, genius, eloquence, pride, perverted reason, and passion are enlisted as Satan’s agents in doing his work in making the broad road attractive, strewing it with tempting flowers. But every word they have spoken against the world’s Redeemer will be reflected back upon them, and will one day burn into their guilty souls like molten lead. They will be overwhelmed with terror and shame as they behold the exalted One coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then shall the bold defier, who lifted himself up against the Son of God, see himself in the true blackness of his character. The sight of the inexpressible glory of the Son of God will be intensely painful to those whose characters are stained with sin. The pure light and glory emanating from Christ will awaken remorse, shame, and terror. They will send forth wails of anguish to the rocks and mountains, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’ [Revelation 6:16, 17.]” Confrontation, 87.

8 What does the Lord do with the wicked ones? Jeremiah 25:30-33. When will they live again? Revelation 20:5, first part; Isaiah 24:22.

note: “In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. ‘There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust’; ‘for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. ‘All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’ John 5:28, 29. They who have been ‘accounted worthy’ of the resurrection of life are ‘blessed and holy.’ ‘On such the second death hath no power.’ Revelation 20:6. But those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression ‘the wages of sin.’ [Romans 6:23.]” The Great Controversy, 544.

“At the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead, and appear before God. . . . Thus the revelator, after describing the resurrection of the righteous, says, ‘The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.’ Revelation 20:5.” The Faith I Live By, 184.

9 If the righteous are taken to heaven, and the wicked are slain at the beginning of the thousand years, who will be left on this earth? Revelation 20:2.

note: “The earth looked like a desolate wilderness. Cities and villages, shaken down by the earthquake, lay in heaps. Mountains had been moved out of their places, leaving large caverns. Ragged rocks, thrown out by the sea, or torn out of the earth itself, were scattered all over its surface. Large trees had been uprooted and were strewn over the land. Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years. Here he will be confined, to wander up and down over the broken surface of the earth and see the effects of his rebellion against God’s law. For a thousand years he can enjoy the fruit of the curse which he has caused. Limited alone to the earth, he will not have the privilege of ranging to other planets, to tempt and annoy those who have not fallen.” Early Writings, 290.

10 In what condition did the prophet see the earth at this time? Jeremiah 4:23-26.

note: “The wicked had been destroyed, and their dead bodies were lying upon its surface. The wrath of God in the seven last plagues had been visited upon the inhabitants of the earth, causing them to gnaw their tongues from pain and to curse God. The false shepherds had been the signal objects of Jehovah’s wrath. Their eyes had consumed away in their holes, and their tongues in their mouths, while they stood upon their feet. After the saints had been delivered by the voice of God, the wicked multitude turned their rage upon one another. The earth seemed to be deluged with blood, and dead bodies were from one end of it to the other.” Early Writings, 289, 290.

11 What will be the condition of the earth during the thousand years? Jeremiah 4:27.

note: “For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed.” The Great Controversy, 660.

Bible Study Guides – Evangelization of the World

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September 2, 2007 – September 8, 2007

Key Text

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15.

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 818-828.

Introduction

“Christ said to his disciples, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’ [Mark 16:15, 16.]

“The field is the world, and we know what this saying comprehends better than did the apostles who received from the lips of Christ the commission to preach the gospel to all the world. The whole world is a vast missionary field, and yet we who have long been established in the truth, should be encouraged with the thought that fields which were once difficult of access, are now easily entered. Every church in our land should seek for the revival of the missionary spirit. They should seek for steady growth in zeal and activity. All should pray that the indifference which has caused both men and means to be withheld from the work, may be banished, and that Christ may abide in the soul. For our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” The Home Missionary, April 1, 1895.

1 What did Jesus say must go to the world before the end of time? Matthew 24:14. For what purpose is the gospel proclaimed to the world?

note: “A revival in Bible study is needed throughout the world. Attention is to be called, not to the assertions of men, but to the Word of God. As this is done, a mighty work will be wrought. When God declared that His Word should not return unto Him void, He meant all that He said. The gospel is to be preached to all nations. The Bible is to be opened to the people. A knowledge of God is the highest education, and it will cover the earth with its wonderful truth as the waters cover the sea.” Evangelism, 456.

2 What did Jesus say of the condition of the world in the last days that will show that it will be impossible for it to be converted? Luke 17:26-30.

note: “We have the history of the antediluvians, and of the cities of the plain, whose course of conduct degenerated from lightness and frivolity to debasing sins that called down the wrath of God in a most dreadful destruction, in order to rid the earth of the curse of their contaminating influence. Inclination and passion bore sway over reason. Self was their god, and the knowledge of the Most High was nearly obliterated through the selfish indulgence of corrupt passions. . . .

“They [the inhabitants of the Noachian world] worshipped selfish indulgence, eating, drinking, merry-making, and resorted to acts of violence and crime if their desires and passions were interfered with.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1090.

3 When the Lord comes, what two classes will He find in the earth? Isaiah 25:9; Revelation 6:15, 16. Could this be so if all the world were converted before He comes? Could they be converted before He comes? Revelation 22:11, 12.

note: “When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.’ Revelation 22:11, 12.” The Great Controversy, 490, 491.

“The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above. . . . Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men.” Ibid., 491.

4 What is the gospel commission? Mark 16:15. For what does God hold His servants responsible?

note: “We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and to inspire hope in the hopeless.

“The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart that hardens under reproof will melt under the love of Christ.

“The missionary can not only relieve physical maladies, but he can lead the sinner to the Great Physician, who can cleanse the soul from the leprosy of sin. Through His servants, God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, and those possessed of evil spirits shall hear His voice. Through His human agencies He desires to be a comforter such as the world knows not.” The Ministry of Healing, 106.

5 Who only will be saved? Mark 16:16.

note: “Those who are one with Christ will love souls for whom he died. Jesus has identified his interest with that of suffering humanity, and he has made manifest at what value he estimates the soul, in that he left the honor and glory of heaven, and for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. He clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to the sin-cursed world to endure insult, reproach, mockery, rejection, and crucifixion, in order to bring to lost humanity the gift of salvation. The rich, the poor, the high, the low, were all included in the ample provision made on Calvary; for he died that all who believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In his last instruction to his disciples, he opened to his followers the part they should act in bringing to men the glad tidings of his infinite love. He said, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’ [Mark 16:15, 16.] Then what are we, who have been most highly favored of heaven, doing to accomplish the work that has been given into our hands? What are we doing to bring to others the light, that they also may have life eternal? What are we doing to save our fellow-men?” The Medical Missionary, August 1, 1892.

6 Does God compel everyone who hears to believe? Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17; Matthew 22:14.

note: “Christ sharply reproved the men of His time because they had not learned from nature the spiritual lessons which they might have learned. All things, animate and inanimate, express to man the knowledge of God. The same divine mind that is working upon the things of nature is speaking to the minds and hearts of men, and creating an inexpressible craving for something they have not. The things of the world cannot satisfy their longing. To all these thirsting souls the divine message is addressed: [Revelation 22:17 quoted].

“The Spirit of God is continually impressing the minds of men to seek for those things which alone will give peace and rest the higher, holier joys of heaven. Christ, the Lord of life and glory, gave His life to redeem man from Satan’s power. Our Saviour is constantly at work, through influences seen and unseen, to attract the minds of men from the unsatisfying pleasures of this life to the priceless treasure which may be theirs in the immortal future.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 580.

7 Will the majority of the world believe on Christ? Matthew 7:13, 14.

note: “There is only one path that leads from darkness upward to the light until it touches the throne of God, the path of faith. This path is not dark and uncertain; it is not the way of finite minds, not a path made by human hands, in which toll is exacted from every traveler. Entrance to it cannot be gained by works of penance.

“The way that God has provided is so complete, so perfect, that man cannot, by any works that he can do, add to its perfection. It is broad enough to receive the most hardened sinner, if he truly repents, and yet so narrow that in it sin can find no place. This is the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in.” Gospel Workers, 160.

8 From whence will the redeemed of the Lord come? Revelation 7:9.

note: “All classes, all nations and kindreds and people and tongues will stand before the throne of God and the Lamb with their spotless robes and jeweled crowns. Said the angel, These are they that have come up through great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white, while the lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, the self-indulgent and disobedient, have lost both worlds. They have neither the things of this life nor the immortal life.

“That triumphant throng, with songs of victory and with crowns and harps, have trodden in the fiery furnace of earthly affliction when it was heated and intensely hot. From destitution, from hunger and torture, they come, from deep self-denial and bitter disappointments. Look upon them now as conquerors, no longer poor, no longer in sorrow, in affliction and hatred of all men for Christ’s sake. Behold their heavenly garments, white and shining, richer than any kingly robe. Look by faith upon their jeweled crowns; never did such a diadem deck the brow of any earthly monarch.” In Heavenly Places, 371.

9 What is the gospel of the kingdom? With what must it be connected? 11 Timothy 4:1, 2. See also Matthew 24:14; Mark 1:15.

note: “Summoning Timothy before the bar of God, Paul bids him preach the word, not the sayings and customs of men; to be ready to witness for God whenever opportunity should present itself, before large congregations and private circles, by the way and at the fireside, to friends and to enemies, whether in safety or exposed to hardship and peril, reproach and loss.

“Fearing that Timothy’s mild, yielding disposition might lead him to shun an essential part of his work, Paul exhorted him to be faithful in reproving sin, and even to rebuke with sharpness those who were guilty of gross evils. . . .

“To hate and reprove sin, and at the same time to show pity and tenderness for the sinner, is a difficult achievement. The more earnest our own efforts to attain to holiness of heart and life, the more acute will be our perception of sin, and the more decided our disapproval of it. We must guard against undue severity toward the wrong-doer; but we must also be careful not to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. There is need of showing Christlike patience and love for the erring one, but there is also danger of showing so great toleration for his error that he will look upon himself as undeserving of reproof, and will reject it as uncalled for and unjust.” Gospel Workers, 30, 31.

10 What are the people of God admonished to do when they see the signs that indicate the coming of the Lord near? 11 Peter 3:11, 12.

note: “Many who profess to be looking for the speedy coming of Christ are becoming conformed to this world and seek more earnestly the applause of those around them than the approbation of God. They are cold and formal, like the nominal churches from which they but a short time since separated. The words addressed to the Laodicean church describe their present condition perfectly. (See Revelation 3:14-20.) . . .

“The time has come when a large portion of those who once rejoiced and shouted aloud for joy in view of the immediate coming of the Lord, are on the ground of the churches and the world who once derided them for believing that Jesus was coming, and circulated all manner of falsehoods to raise prejudice against them and destroy their influence. Now, if any one longs after the living God, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and God gives him to feel His power, and satisfies his longing soul by shedding abroad His love in his heart, and if he glorifies God by praising Him, he is, by these professed believers in the soon coming of the Lord, often considered deluded, and charged with being mesmerized or having some wicked spirit.

“Many of these professed Christians dress, talk, and act like the world, and the only thing by which they may be known is their profession. Though they profess to be looking for Christ, their conversation is not in heaven, but on worldly things. [11 Peter 3:11, 12; 1 John 3:3 quoted.] But it is evident that many who bear the name of Adventist study more to decorate their bodies and to appear well in the eyes of the world than they do to learn from the Word of God how they may be approved of Him.” Early Writings, 107, 108.

Babylon the Great City, part 2

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In our last article, we looked at the inspired evidence in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy that defines who the dragon, the beast power and the false prophet represent. These three powers will form one worldwide confederacy in the last days. This confederacy will be accompanied by great signs and wonders and many miracles, and will persuade the world in general that the greatest revival and reformation of all time is taking place. The people will believe that they are receiving the latter rain of the Holy Spirit. Miraculous healings will take place, and people will be prophesying and casting out spirits. The greatest excitement will prevail. It will appear that war and international distress will be abolished and that worldwide peace will develop.

Ellen White describes this period in this way: “I saw our people in great distress, weeping, and praying, pleading the sure promises of God, while the wicked were all around us, mocking us, and threatening to destroy us. They ridiculed our feebleness, they mocked at the smallness of our numbers, and taunted us with words calculated to cut deep. They charged us with taking an independent position from all the rest of the world. They had cut off our resources so that we could not buy nor sell, and referred to our abject poverty and stricken condition. They could not see how we could live without the world; we were dependent upon the world, and we must concede to the customs, practices, and laws of the world, or go out of it. If we were the only people in the world whom the Lord favored the appearances were awfully against us. They declared that they had the truth, that miracles were among them, that angels from heaven talked with them, and walked with them, that great power, and signs and wonders were performed among them, and this was the Temporal Millennium, which they had been expecting so long. The whole world was converted and in harmony with the Sunday law, and this little feeble people stood out in defiance of the laws of the land, and the laws of God, and claimed to be the only ones right on the earth.” Maranatha, 209.

This three-fold union of the dragon, the beastpower and the false prophet will unite together to accomplish the following objectives:

  1. Bring unity and harmony into Christendom. It will be thought that this movement will answer Jesus’ prayer in John 17, and end the disharmony that has existed in Christendom since at least the second century. Eventually, in order to bring this about, all religious groups will come under severe pressures of many kinds, both from the State and the church, to conform to at least a minimum of common beliefs held by all. The absolute minimum will be that all conform to the day of worship accepted by the majority—Sunday.
  2. Usher in the day of the Lord—the return of Christ. Most Christian groups today believe that the day of the Lord, the end of the age, is not far away. It will be thought that this united movement will bring about the consummation of the church’s hopes.
  3. Bring unity not only within Christendom but with the entire world—with all non-Christian groups as well.

The above objectives will be obvious to human observers but there are other powers, spiritual powers, in the universe, that also have objectives to accomplish through these developments. First of all, the devil and his fallen angels. The following are their revealed objectives:

“The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church-members love what the world loves, and are ready to join with them; and Satan determines to unite them in one body, and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world, and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.” The Great Controversy, 588.

“Zechariah’s vision of Joshua and the Angel applies with peculiar force to the experience of God’s people in the closing scenes of the great day of atonement. The remnant church will then be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects; he has gained control even of many professing Christians. But here is a little company who are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law.” Prophets and Kings, 587.

The preceding paragraph explains the reason for Sunday laws that most people know nothing about—they are inspired by supernatural powers as a way to bring all the people of the world into violation of God’s law and thereby under condemnation in the day of judgement. It is a master plan, bolstered with the highest sounding benefits to mankind, that in actuality brings man into direct violation of the Law of God and thereby in direct controversy and rebellion against his Creator. The fourth commandment, right in the heart of the Ten Commandments says,”Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you nor your son nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates, for in six days, the Lord created the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh-day, wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11.

The entire world knows when the seventh-day is because the whole world refers to a certain day of the week at Easter as “good Friday.” The whole world also knows on which day of the week Jesus arose from the dead. From this it is not hard to know when the seventh-day Sabbath is. According to the commandment of God, it is the day of the week that comes between “good Friday” and resurrection Sunday. (See Luke 23:54; 24:1.)

The devil’s objective has always been to take the place of God and to force others, if necessary, to worship him. “The great apostate has changed the signpost, setting up a false one—a spurious sabbath. He says: ‘I will work at cross purposes with God. I will empower my delegate, the man of sin, to take down God’s memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus will I show the world that the day sanctified and blessed by God has been changed. That day shall not live in the minds of the people. I will obliterate the memory of it. I will place in its stead a day bearing not the credentials of heaven, a day that can not be a sign between God and His people. I will lead the people who accept this day, to place upon it the sanctity that God placed upon the seventh day. Through my vicegerent I will exalt myself. The first day shall be extolled, and the Protestant world shall receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. Through the non-observance of the Sabbath God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt. The words, ‘A sign between me and you throughout your generations,’ I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath. Thus the world will become mine. I will be ruler of the earth, prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be an object of contempt. I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws shall be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law; and the earth will be wholly under my dominion.’ ” Review and Herald, April 17, 1900.

“The warfare against God’s law commenced in heaven. Satan was determined to bring God to his ideas, his way, to force Him to change the law of His government. This was the cause of the war in heaven. Satan worked upon the sympathies of the angelic host by his deceptive attitude, but he was expelled from heaven, and now he is determined to carry out on this earth the plans he instituted in heaven. If he can persuade man to be disloyal to the laws of God, he will feel that he is revenged upon God. He strives to instill into the minds of men his masterly deceptions, thus perverting judgment and justice, and trampling down the law of God. This work—the conflict between truth and error—-lies at the foundation of the trials and tribulations that the children of God will experience. This is the ‘trial of their faith.’ By pressing upon the soul the idea that God is displeased with us, Satan tries to torture us into unbelief.” Letter 24, 1895, 4–6.

“If Satan can induce a union of the church and the world, man-made commandments will supplant the Sabbath. Men do not seem to understand that they are taken in Satan’s snare when they attempt to tamper with the law of God. Satan has them in just the position he wants them when they manufacture laws to control the world and place those laws where God’s laws should be. The enemy knows that, if the church can be controlled by political enactments, she will lose her garments of light as did Adam and Eve. If he can lead the church to unite with the world and accept worldly enactments, they virtually acknowledge him as their head. Then the authority of manmade commandments will work to oppose the rule of the government of heaven. Under the leadership of Satan the knowledge of good and evil will work to dispense with the righteous, holy enactments of God concerning the Sabbath, the observance of which is to be a sign between God and His people forever.” Adventist Apocalypse (Ms. 77, 1899).

The devil is not the only supernatural power who has objectives in the Sunday law movement that will be promoted by the three-fold union mentioned in Revelation 16. God is against this movement designed to force the entire world to transgress His law, but nevertheless, God has specific objectives in allowing it to develop:

“I saw that the enemy would either contend for the usefulness or the life of the godly, and will try to mar their peace as long as they live in this world. But his power is limited. He may cause the furnace to be heated, but Jesus and angels will watch the trusting Christian, that nothing may be consumed but the dross. The fire kindled by Satan, can have no power to destroy or hurt the true metal. It is important to close every door possible, against the entrance of Satan. It is the privilege of every family to so live that Satan cannot take advantage of anything they may say or do, to tear each other down. Every member of the family should bear in mind that all have just as much as they can do to resist our wily foe, and with earnest prayers and unyielding faith, they must rely upon the merits of the blood of Christ, and claim His saving strength. The powers of darkness gather about the soul and shut Jesus from our sight, and at times we can only wait in sorrow and amazement until the cloud passes over. These seasons are sometimes terrible. Hope seems to fail, and despair seizes upon us. In these dreadful hours we must learn to trust, to depend on the sole merits of the atonement, and in all our helpless unworthiness cast ourselves upon the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour. We shall never perish while we do this— never! When light shines on our pathway, it is no great thing to be strong in the strength of grace. But to wait patiently in hope, when all is dark, when clouds envelope us, requires faith and submission which causes our will to be swallowed up in the will of God. We are too quickly discouraged, and earnestly cry for the trial to be removed from us, when we should plead for patience to endure, and grace to overcome.” Review and Herald, April 22, 1862.

“God means that testing truth shall be brought to the front and become a subject of examination and discussion, even if it is through the contempt placed upon it.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 463.

“God has called His church in this day, as He called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. By the mighty cleaver of truth, the messages of the first, second, and third angels, He has separated them from the churches and from the world to bring them into a sacred nearness to Himself. He has made them the depositaries of His law and has committed to them the great truths of prophecy for this time. Like the holy oracles committed to ancient Israel, these are a sacred trust to be communicated to the world. The three angels of Revelation 14 represent the people who accept the light of God’s messages and go forth as His agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Christ declares to His followers: ‘Ye are the light of the world.’ To every soul that accepts Jesus the cross of Calvary speaks: ‘Behold the worth of the soul: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Nothing is to be permitted to hinder this work. It is the all-important work for time; it is to be far-reaching as eternity. The love that Jesus manifested for the souls of men in the sacrifice which He made for their redemption, will actuate all His followers.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 455.

Let’s look at a brief historical review from the first article:

When those religious bodies and groups, who claimed to derive their religion and reason for existence from the Bible (inspired writings alone), rejected the First Angel’s Message, God rejected them. Jesus turned from them with a frown and they fell from their former position of acceptance with God. They became part of what Revelation calls mystical Babylon. The rejection of the First Angel’s Message involved also the rejection of the Sabbath, because the Sabbath is clearly a part of the First Angel’s Message, the fourth commandment actually being quoted from in that message. But that was not the end of the fall into Babylon by these churches: “The Second Angel’s Message of Revelation 14, was first preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the Judgment had been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension in the churches had been most rapid. But the message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the Advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time, they have fallen lower and lower.” The Great Controversy, 389.

The question then must of necessity be asked, what should our relationship be to those who, according to the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, belong to associations and groups (churches), described by Scripture as Babylon? It is evident in Scripture that these groups cannot be reformed, because God does not call for His people to attempt to improve or reform them, but rather to come out of them. This is what the Three Angels’ Messages accomplish, as the reference quoted above clearly states.

If God is calling His people to come out of these groups, is it possible for a person who has accepted the Three Angels’ Messages and come out of those groups, to simply associate with them, and never call the people to come out of them and still have a clear conscience? Is it possible to simply say, “Well, we will work with these people as best we can on those points which we hold in common”? Is it not clearly evident that it is impossible to in any way be a part of the ecumenical movement and stay true and faithful to the Three Angels’ Messages? If we associate with these people and never call them to come out of Babylon, what do we intend to say to them when they receive the seven last plagues and reproach us for not calling them out of danger into the safety of the remnant? The following is what they will say to us: “In the visions of the night a very impressive scene passed before me. I saw an immense ball of fire fall among some beautiful mansions, causing their instant destruction. I heard someone say: ‘We knew that the judgments of God were coming upon the earth, but we did not know that they would come so soon.’ Others, with agonized voices, said: ‘You knew! Why then did you not tell us? We did not know.’ On every side I heard similar words of reproach spoken.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 28.

While we are ever to be kind and courteous to those who are in error, never by precept or example should we give the wrong impression that they are not in danger of receiving the seven last plagues. If we act like they are our brothers in Christ when, in truth, the organizations with whom they have been affiliated are rejected by the Lord, we are doing them harm. God is calling them to come out from the unclean and be separate so that they can be received of God as His children. (2 Corinthians 6:14–18.) If we want to be a part of that number who will give the final warning, the loud cry to come out of Babylon (the churches fallen because of their errors and sins), how can we now be going directly contrary to the spirit of that message by fraternizing with those that we should be calling out of their religions affiliations?

“The warnings that worldly conformity and cowardice has silenced will have to be given under the fiercest opposition from our enemies.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 463. Where will you be found? Will you be among those who give the warning or will you be one of the large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s Message, but not being sanctified through obedience to the truth,abandon your position, join with the ecumenical movement which is enforcing Sunday observance and fight those who are giving the last warning of God to this world? (See Great Controversy, 608.)

“Servants of God, endowed with power from on high, with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried out of Sodom before her destruction. God’s people were strengthened by the excellent glory which rested upon them in rich abundance and prepared them to endure the hour of temptation. I heard everywhere a multitude of voices saying, ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ “Early Writings, 278.

 

Now is the Day of Salvation

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As the disciples stood looking at the beautiful temple gleaming in the sun, in their admiration, they began to speak to Jesus. But, with these words, He dashed all their grand hopes: “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2. All their understanding, their visions, their imaginations and their hopes were centered upon Jesus as a king, who would set up an earthly kingdom. Suddenly, in one brief statement, He wiped all their hopes away.

Now Jesus starts to walk. He is going to the Mount of Olives, one of His favorite places. The disciples fall in behind and talk among themselves whispering, “What is He trying to tell us?” When they reached their resting place, the disciples came to Him and asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3.

Christ’s first words are, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Verse 4. Who is Jesus warning against being deceived? It is the ministers in the church. He is not talking to the Gentiles. He is warning the church people that as we come to the end of the world, there will be great deceptions in the church, and we need to beware or we will be deceived.

When I used to preach this sermon, I looked at the other churches, and thought Jesus was talking about them, but now I must look at my own church. Jesus said, “For many shall come in my name.” Verse 5. When we take the name Seventh-day Adventist, we come in His name. But if we do not allow the plan of salvation to be worked out in our own lives, we are just coming in His name. We are not truly His until we surrender our will, our mind and our lives completely to God.

 

Signs in the Earth

 

In the next three verses Jesus lists world events that will signify that His coming is near: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Verse 6.

When I was in World War II, I thought that it surely must be the end of the world. I believed that, certainly, when that war ended Jesus would come. I was just a young man in those days, and now I am old and Jesus has not come yet. Why? The sole reason lies with us. Soon after 1844, if the church had entered into the experience of the Third Angel’s Message, Jesus would have come. (See Selected Messages, vol. 1, 68.) In 1888, God made another great attempt to bring the people into line with an experience of surrendering themselves so He could pour out His latter rain. But again the message was rejected, and over one hundred years later we are still here. However, I believe Jesus is coming soon. He will not tarry much longer. We have been around the mountain too many times, and the signs of His soon coming are too clear to be mistaken.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.” Verse 7. This verse has been fulfilled time and time again in recent years. Nations who rise against other nations are a permanent part of the daily news. One night one man goes to sleep as the king or president of a nation, and the next morning he is in jail and someone else is in power. We call those coups, and they happen all the time in our world.

“There shall be famines.” If you have been to the mission field or a third world country, you know that famines are horrible things. I remember in Africa when the rains did not come, and the gardens did not grow and all that the people had to eat was cassava. The little children were malnourished, and the weak ones died. The ladies would come to my wife in the dispensary and ask, “What are we going to do? We have no food.” It is heart-rending to face people that are dying because there is no food.

As we come to the end, it says that there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. No one could deny that we now have pestilence and disease on every side. In Kenya, one hundred thousand cattle have died from Mad Cow disease, and now people are dying from the same thing. When I traveled to Australia some time ago, I sat beside a scientist who is working with AIDS in Australia. He told me that there are about thirteen million people who have been diagnosed with AIDS, and at the rate of increase, by the turn of the century there might be as many as sixty million people with AIDS.

Medical science has developed many “wonder drugs,” but, as we come to the end, they do not seem to have an affect on these diseases. People are dying of all kinds of diseases and many times doctors are helpless.

 

Signs in the Church

 

We could continue our list of horrors which fulfill Christ’s prophecy of the time just before His coming, but Jesus said, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Verse 8. What could be worse than wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes? Inspiration says, “We have far more to fear from within than from without.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 122. From verse nine on, Jesus pictures trouble in the church, and warns us that our worst problems will come from within the church. “And then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.” Verse 9.

In Matthew 10:16–22, Jesus talked about the same situation: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: [He is talking about church people here] for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues [their churches]; And ye shall be brought before Governors and Kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the child: And the children shall rise up against the parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake: but he that endureth unto the end the same shall be saved.”

Continuing on in Matthew 24:10: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another,and shall hate one another.” From verse nine forward, Jesus is talking about the shaking of the church when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Only that which cannot be shaken will remain. (See Testimonies, vol. 7, 219 and vol. 9, 15–16.)

“And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many.” Verse 11. Inside the church, there will be many false prophets. Ellen White gave a picture of what would happen with our own ministers: “Unsanctified ministers are arraying themselves against God. They are praising Christ and the god of this world in the same breath. While professedly they receive Christ, they embrace Barabbas, and by their actions say, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas.’ . . .Let the sin of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and the false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly, for he knows what truth is. Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled with the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much. ‘If thou hadst known,’ said Christ, ‘even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from their eyes.’ ” Testimonies to Ministers, 409–410.

False prophets are the greatest tragedy that has ever happened to Adventism. Tragically, many of these false prophets stand in very high positions. On Sabbath mornings, instead of preaching the real message that God has delivered to the Seventh-day Adventist Church to prepare a people for eternity, the message is what the Baptists or some other church is saying. It is tragic! If Ellen White were alive today, I think she would be busy night and day writing to those from the very top of this church to the bottom.

 

A Message for Laodiceans

 

The majority of Adventists do not know the truth. Why? They listen to men and are not studying the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy for themselves. The greatest weakness we have in Adventism today is that hardly anyone is reading the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy. They would rather just listen to a sermon and pay their tithe. It is like joining a club. You walk through the door, pay the dues, go home and go to sleep. That is why we are still here.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Verse 12. In other words, sin is going to be tolerated because of these false prophets that have come in. When sin comes into a church unreproved, problems multiply. You can read about it in Revelation 3:14–19: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. And as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: Be zealous therefore, and repent.”

Ellen White wrote in Testimonies, vol. 5, 136, “To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord, when champions are few—this will be our test.” Our people in the Adventist churches today are being tested, and many of them are failing. God can only trust with eternal life those that are willing to make a full surrender of the will, mind and body to Him.

It is true—we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked, but we think we are increased with goods and in need of nothing. We are so happy with our situation, that we say, “God we want you to come, but wait a little while until we get through with what we are doing.”

“The message to the church of the Laodiceans is a startling denunciation, and applicable to the people of God at the present time . . . The Lord here shows us that the message to be borne to His people by ministers whom He has called to warn the people is not a peace and safety message. It is not merely theoretical, but practical in every particular. The people of God are represented in the message to the Laodicean as in a position of carnal security . . . What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right when they are all wrong? The message of the true witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God.

“According to the light that God has given me in a vision, wickedness and deception are increasing among God’s people who profess to keep His commandments. Spiritual discernment to see sin as it exists and then to put it out of the camp is decreasing among God’s people; and spiritual blindness is fast coming upon them. The straight testimony must be revived, and it will separate those from Israel that have ever been at war with the means that God has ordained to keep corruptions out of the church. Wrongs must be called wrongs. Grievous sins must be called by their right name. All of God’s people should come nearer to Him and wash their robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. Then will they see sin in the true light and will realize how offensive it is in the sight of God.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 252–253.

Our redemption is much nearer than our minds are capable of comprehending. We are comfortable in our daily routine, comfortable homes, comfortable cars and all our possessions, but one of these days everything will change. We talk about it. We read The Great Controversy, especially the last chapters. We believe it, but it is hard for us to get our mind into that framework.

 

Preparation for the Final Crisis

 

When Betty and I were in Africa, we went through two revolutions. It was terrible! In the late 1950s, we were at Korrinda mission near Stanleyville, in the Congo, when the place blew up. We escaped three days ahead of Lamumba’s army. They killed thousands. It was only by a miracle that we made it into Uganda. From there, we were sent to Rwanda.

We had pictures of white priests leading five hundred Bhutus, drunk from banana beer, to burn Tutsi villages. There were Belgian paratroopers sitting in their jeeps watching, and if the Tutsis began to win, they turned their machine guns on them.

One morning the Belgian paratroopers went by my house in a jeep, down to the African village, and yelled in French for a Tutsi to come out of his house. It was just daybreak and he was scared to death so he did not come out. They turned their machine gun on the hut, killed him, jumped back in their jeep, and drove by my house, never saying a word.

These are the types of experiences we may have to face one day. People will lose their lives because they refuse to bow to the beast and keep Sunday. (Revelation 20:4.) Where will you and I be in those days? We can stand up in peace and prosperity and preach the truth, but will we stand in front of the courts when we face a death sentence and preach as boldly? We need to pray, because the only way we can do what Huss and the other martyrs did is with God’s special power in our lives.

We also have a preparation to make. If I have to stand in front of a judge and cannot use my Bible, I want to have God’s Word in my mind. It cannot be taken away from me there. And God has promised that if I will put it there, He will take it out when the time comes and give me the words to speak.

 

The Endurance Race

 

In Matthew 24:13 there is a most precious promise: “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” We are all in an endurance race. Paul gives a vivid picture of what it takes to win this race in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away.”

The symbol that Paul used was not unfamiliar to the Corinthians. Corinth was a Greek city and the Greeks were the originators of the Olympic games. I can imagine the apostle Paul looking out of his window, watching these young men prepare themselves for these Olympic games. He said, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” These men wanted to be sure they were going to win the gold, and no sacrifice was too precious to be made to reach their goal.

Yet, some Seventh-day Adventists have a real struggle with the health message. Many Adventist churches now serve coffee, doughnuts and tea after services. It is a social event, not a strenuous race. But without the preparation of mind and body by temperance and exercise, we will not endure.

I want the gold. How about you? We are in the greatest Olympics that have ever taken place in the six thousand-year history of Planet Earth. Only those that are getting ready for what is about to burst upon us as an overwhelming surprise will endure. Only those who are preparing through study and prayer are going to make it through.

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14. Once God’s people understand what the gospel is and bring their lives into harmony with the truth without any compromise, the end will come. It did not happen in 1844. It did not happen after 1888. And here we have lived one hundred and ten years more and it still has not happened. But it will happen when we are faithful, loyal and obedient to all truth.

The evidence that the end is near is overwhelming and our stay is short. We have to change. We have to get into the Word of God like we have never studied before.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39.

The Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.

“And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.

Anything less is lost. Why? Because sin is so terrible that God can only trust those who are complete overcomers. We must have a complete and total change: “All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power.” The Desire of Ages, 827. Transformation, how we need it! “And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we will be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God, as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.” Ibid., 668.

We have to hate sin! We have to stop sinning! Not by what we can do, but by what we know God will do in us. That is why we need to pray like we have never prayed before. We need to study like we have never studied before. We need to read the Spirit of Prophecy books and apply them to our lives today.

Jesus will come. There is no question about it. I wake up with it. I walk with it. I go to bed with it. I am excited about going to heaven. But we need to be ready now. We need to tell other people how to get ready for the coming of the Lord now. Now is the day of salvation.

 

One World Church

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Many Christians today desire to be part of the Apostolic church that Jesus formed at his ascension but are not willing to join or be part of any particular denomination. With so many different churches and denominations the question arises, Will there be another universal religious power and why are there so many denominations all separated from one another?

John the Revelator was given a most astonishing prophecy foretelling what would happen in Christendom and the future of the Christian church. This was seen in the prophecy of the seven seals and the four horsemen.

Revelation 6:1, 2 says, “I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”

In one generation the news that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and that sins could be forgiven simply by coming to Him in faith, was taken to the whole world. The apostle Paul wrote, “The gospel, which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven.” Colossians 1:23.

According to Christian tradition, Andrew went as a missionary to India and Nicodemus went as a missionary to the area which today is called the British Isles. The message was spread all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Philip shared with the Ethiopian eunuch who took the gospel back to Ethiopia and from that time there were Christians in Ethiopia. The news that Jesus had broken the bonds of death, and that through Him eternal life was available, electrified the world and believers were added to the church worldwide.

When confronted that this teaching was contrary to the prevailing ideas of society, the position of the early believers was that they “ought to obey God rather than man.” Acts 5:29. They had a “primitive godliness” or “Apostolic Christianity” that every Christian wants but few people have.

The white horse represents the church following the day of Pentecost that had a pure faith but God foresaw that things would change.

The apostle Paul said to the elders, bishops and overseers of the church, “Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” Acts 20:28–30.

Paul says that apostasy would come up from within the church. The greatest danger to the Christian church has never been from the outside, but the most dangerous enemies are those on the inside.

The second seal opened: “Another horse, fiery red, went out, and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword.” Revelation 6:4.

This horse represents a bloodstained faith. The pagan Roman government saw that if Christianity was allowed to go on it would conquer the world so they decided to destroy the church. That resulted in bitter persecution for hundreds of years and millions of Christians were martyred for their faith. Some were fed to starving lions, leopards and other ferocious beasts. Others were crucified or burned to death.

The period of the red horse was from about A.D. 90 to about A.D. 313. when the edict of Milan was passed granting, for the first time, official toleration to the Christians.

The next change was represented by a black horse.

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:5, 6.

Black is the color of apostasy. The Christian faith was compromised.

Faith in Christ for salvation was replaced by trust in the church for salvation. During this period of time an attempt was made to supplant the commandments of God with the commandments of men. The Ten Commandments of God are unchangeable. Jesus said it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass than for one of them to fail because they are eternal.

Part of the second commandment says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.” Exodus 20:4, 5.

Christians began to bow before images using them in their worship services, although this was forbidden in the second commandment. The pagan’s day of the sun replaced the Bible Sabbath. Christians did not want to be thought of as enemies of the Roman state so they compromised and said that they could celebrate on that day too, because that is the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

The Apostolic Creed, Book 7, Section 2 reads, “Oh Lord Almighty, thou hast created the world by Jesus Christ, and hath appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof.”

The apostles knew which day the Sabbath was and that it was given because God was the Creator of the heavens and the earth. All of the early Christians in the first century kept the Sabbath.

We are told by Eusibius that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own religion.

The retention of the old pagan name Sunday is in great measure owed to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects, the venerable day of the sun.

It was during this time when Sunday keeping came into the Christian church. The Bible says, “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:3.

The prophet Ezekiel said that, “Her priests have violated my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.” Ezekiel 22:26.

Concerning this law, God said, “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my mouth.” Psalm 89:34. Jesus said, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle [part of a letter] of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. It was during this time period after Constantine in the 4th century that men started tampering with God’s law, doing away with some and replacing it with something else. This is the period of time spoken of in the prophecy of the black horse, a compromised Christianity.

The worst was yet to come. Compromise leads to a total abandonment of the original principles, or in other words, apostasy.

What happened next?

“And when he had opened the fourth seal, … I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Revelation 6:7, 8.

The Greek word translated pale actually means a pale yellowish green like the substance that someone has just vomited.

Because of the compromise, new Christians were, as far as thinking and habits went, the same old pagans. “Their surge into the churches did not wipe out paganism. On the contrary, hordes of baptized pagans meant that paganism had deluded the moral energies of organized Christianity to the point of impotence.” Centuries of Christianity, the Concise History, 58.

This resulted in a dead faith. The apostolic church had the power of the Holy Spirit but when the Christian church started imitating pagan customs, they lost the Spirit and power of God. They needed something to replace it to enforce its decrees. They went to the state to get power which resulted in a union of church and state. Religion then became a matter of following tradition instead of following the word of God. Christianity became an established religion in the Roman Empire and took the place of paganism. Christianity as it existed in the Dark Ages might be termed baptized Paganism.

The steps of compromise led to:

  • Human tradition being accepted over the Bible;
  • The teaching of faith and works, especially religious rituals, were necessary to be saved;
  • The church was exalted over the word of God; and,
  • The commandments of human leaders were taught instead of the commandments of God.

During this terrible period of time millions of Christians lost their lives for their faith. It was actually a crime for a common person to own a copy of the Scriptures. It had to be read in secret for fear of death. It looked like true religion had just about come to an end. But the Bible says, “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18.

Comparatively speaking, there were very few Christians in the world at that time. Because of persecution they fled to the mountains just as it was predicted in Revelation 12. However, the light of truth penetrated the darkness. Notice what Jude wrote to the Christians: “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 3.

The true Christians, even when they were locked up in dungeons, prisons or exiled, maintained their faith in Jesus unto death. Bible believing Christians were scattered, many living in hidden homes in isolated places, especially in the alps of northern Italy and in the southeast of France. The Waldenses, the Bordeaux, the Huguenots or Albigenses or Paulicians were among these.

There were no printing presses in those days so the Waldenses copied the Scriptures by hand, all the time teaching them to their children. While very few in Europe had them, the Waldenses had the Scriptures in their own native language and taught that the Bible was the rule of faith and practice above the usages of the church.

Jesus said to the devil, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.

James 1:18 says, “Of his own will he brought us [the church] forth by the word [the Bible], that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

The Word of God, the Scriptures, produced the church and not the church producing the word of God. There are hundreds of people confused about this today. Simply said, the word is not the child of the church, but is the parent or the origin of the church.

During this period of the Dark Ages, millions of people went to prison and lost their lives because they would not consent to compromise the faith of the Bible. We are not to disobey the commandment of God in order to obey any human edict or any church or government. “We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29. This might be called the creed of the martyrs during the Dark Ages.

Only the final Day of Judgment will reveal the exact number, but estimates are that 50–70 million Christians were martyred during the Dark Ages. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. He discovered through his study that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, which is contrary to the doctrine that men were saved by both faith and works, which was then commonly believed.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9.

In the 16th century there were still many truths of the New Testament that had been lost, and it was impossible that even the best scholars could come to the full knowledge of all Bible truth in one generation.

Jesus understands that. He said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” John 16:12. You can’t take all the truth right now.

Martin Luther was an instrument of God to bring the entire Christian world back to the apostolic teaching that we are saved by grace alone. But that was not all that God’s children needed to learn. Other teachers were raised up by God to lead His people slowly back to apostolic Christianity. The Lord wanted His children to grow in the knowledge of the Christian lifestyle and come to Christian perfection. Christian perfection is not a popular doctrine today, but it is Biblical. Peter said, “Grow in grace.” II Peter 3:18. And Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

Those following the increasing light learned that infants were not baptized in the apostolic church, but only those who were old enough to manifest their faith. The idea of infant baptism commenced during the Dark Ages.

Jesus said, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations … Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19, 20.

Martin Luther was not the only one to be persecuted but every reformer to which God revealed new truth from the Bible. The people, later called Anabaptists, who discovered the need to be old enough to reason, or come to the age of accountability before being baptized, were persecuted. At that time it was a capital crime not to believe in infant baptism. Once when I was in France, I was shown a bridge where at one time Anabaptists had been beheaded and their heads posted on both sides of the bridge.

Later, John Wesley and others studied and learned that God expected His followers to become holy people. Paul wrote, “Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.

John Wesley, who was a member of the Church of England, wrote much on this subject of holiness. His followers later became known as the Methodist church.

When Jesus left this world it was with the promise that He would return. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, is going to come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.

Toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, there was a great religious awakening. Bible students around the world began to see that they had reached the period of earth’s history that the Bible described as the last days or the time of the end.

For the first time in history, God began to move upon His servants all over the world and in many different churches to proclaim the news that the second coming of Christ was approaching. Within just a few years, earnest Bible students in many countries learned principal doctrines of the apostles that had been lost during the Dark Ages. Some of these included the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, health principles, how to live as Christ’s followers, and what happens after death.

There are really only two kinds of religion in the world, the true religion that the apostles had which comes from God and teaches, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29, or the other religion that Jesus described in Matthew 15:9, “And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

There are thousands of religions today, all with conflicting creeds, but they all have one thing in common—they teach the commandments of men. Most people who call themselves Christians have a religion that is a mixture of the word of God and the commandments of men. God predicted that in the last days there would be some people who would repair the breach made in God’s law which is the attempt to destroy the Sabbath.

Notice what Isaiah says: “You shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of streets to dwell in. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord, honourable.” Isaiah 58:12, 13.

God’s people, in the last days, will be a commandment keeping people. John describes the two identifying characteristics that His people will possess. “Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God.” Revelation 14:12.

There are eight issues in the last days to consider:

Authority

God’s truth—Religious authority comes from God’s word. His word is sufficient to bring the Christian to perfection. II Timothy 3:16, 17.

Satan’s counterfeit—Religious authority comes from man and groups of men, such as church councils or theologians. Church laws are decrees.

Prayer

God’s truth—Prayer is made to God the Father and is offered in the name of Jesus Christ alone.

Satan’s counterfeit—Prayers are made to the dead, to angels and saints with the use of images.

Salvation

God’s truth—Salvation can be received by grace alone, through faith alone. The good works of the Christian do not earn any merit; we are saved by the merits of Christ alone. See Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus 3:3–7.

Satan’s counterfeit—Salvation comes partly by grace and partly earned—either by the works of the believer or by the good works of saints.

Intercession

God’s truth—The Christian goes to Christ alone as his intercessor and receives forgiveness for sins by the merits of Christ alone. The Bible says, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2:5.

Satan’s counterfeit—The Christian goes to human intercessors to receive forgiveness for sins.

Worship

God’s truth—“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:8–10. Writing several decades after the cross Paul, speaking of the seventh day, says it remains. Hebrews 4:4–6.

Satan’s counterfeit— as  Many worship on Friday, and many worship on Sunday—the ancient pagan solar holiday.

Death

God’s truth—“The dead do not praise the Lord.” Psalm 115:17. “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19.

“Jesus spoke of His death: but they thought He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.” John 11:13.

“There will be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust.” Acts 24:15.

Satan’s counterfeit—When a person dies he goes to heaven or hell or some other undesirable place.

Baptism

God’s truth—Baptism by immersion and “He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved.” Mark 16:16. You cannot be an infant; you must first believe.

Satan’s counterfeit—Infant baptism of sprinkling or pouring which is not taught in the Bible.

Health laws

God’s truth—The health laws of the Bible are eternal and we must keep them if we are to be God’s children. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” I Corinthians 6:19, 20.

“If any man destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him.” I Corinthians 3:17.

Jesus said, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16.

Satan’s counterfeit—The health laws of the Bible have been abolished and we can eat and drink as we please.

Who are the people who Jesus will recognize as belonging to Him when He comes? “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14. NKJV.

Those who are loyal to the laws of the heavenly government will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

There will be some who will not enter the city. Revelation 22:15 says, “Outside are dogs,” then is listed specific ones, “the sexually immoral [the seventh commandment], the idolaters [the second commandment], those who are liars [the ninth commandment].”

Notice in verse 14 that the people who keep the commandments will be recognized by Jesus as belonging to Him. When Jesus comes, will you be one of those who are welcomed into the holy city, or will you be left on the outside?

“Now is the day of salvation.” II Corinthians 6:2.

“Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” Hebrews 3:7, 8.

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316–788–5559.

Preparing for the Future

by

In the first chapter of 1 Chronicles is an account of the family tree of Adam right down to Abraham:
1. Adam, 2. Seth, 3. Enosh, 4. Cainan, 5. Mahalalel, 6. Jared, 7. Enoch. Enoch is the seventh generation from Adam, and although he is only mentioned in four places in the Bible, Ellen White has a lot to say about him.

She said, “[Enoch] represents God’s loyal people in the last days who will be separate from the world. Unrighteousness will prevail to a dreadful extent upon the earth. Men will give themselves up to follow every imagination of their corrupt hearts, and carry out their deceptive philosophy, and rebel against the authority of high heaven.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 64. Enoch is actually one of the most famous men who has ever lived, although we don’t know a lot about him from the Bible. We do know that he was the first person who was translated. “Enoch lived sixty five-years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:21–24.

He is a representative of the people who will be living in the last days and translated when Jesus comes. Would you care to be one of those people?

Studying the life of Enoch is a lesson on how to be ready for that time. Let’s look at a few things about him.

Enoch walked with God and spent much time in prayer. “Enoch devoted time to prayer and communion with God, and this enabled him to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. It was his devotion to God that fitted him for translation.” The Review and Herald, April 15, 1909.

“When in trouble, when assailed by fierce temptations, they [we] have the privilege of prayer. What an exalted privilege! Finite beings, of dust and ashes, admitted through the mediation of Christ, into the audience-chamber of the Most High. In such exercises the soul is brought into a sacred nearness with God, and is renewed in knowledge, and true holiness, and fortified against the assaults of the enemy.” An Appeal to Mothers, 24. Daniel also prayed at three specific times each day in a certain place (Daniel 6:10).

God’s people everywhere, including people of all ages, are assailed by multiple temptations. It is only through having a consistent prayer life that you will be fortified to deal with each temptation.

“To him [Enoch] prayer was as the breath of the soul. He lived in the atmosphere of heaven.” Gospel Workers, 52. He prayed continually. Just as you have to breathe continually, so, if prayer is the breath of the soul, you need to be in constant communication with God. This does not mean he knelt down all the time, for he had work to do just like everybody else in this world. Enoch was a husband, a father and a citizen, and he had to make a living by the sweat of his face just as was pronounced on Adam (Genesis 3:19) and all of his posterity. He had responsibilities and duties, but in the midst of all these things he communed with God.

“The infinite, unfathomable love of God through Christ, became the subject of his meditations day and night.” Ibid., 51. He was trying to understand the love of God that had been manifested in the human family by the promise of sending His Son, the Saviour of the world. Then Mrs. White says, “In the midst of a life of active labor, Enoch steadfastly maintained his communion with God. The greater and more pressing his labors, the more constant and earnest were his prayers.” Ibid., 52. The more he had to do, the more constant, the more earnest were his prayers.

What happens if a person starts living like that? Notice what the apostle Paul says: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18.

When you look at the glory of the Lord, you will be changed to be like Him, or as Ellen White says,

“It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 91.

If you think about it and know what is going on in the world today, and even in the church, this could be a subject of terror. Many people who profess to be Christians spend much of their time looking at sin, watching it, listening to it. It is the natural progression of things that you will think about what you look at. What is the result? There is an interesting text in Isaiah that tells what the result will be. It says, “Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:22.

You become what you look at and what you listen to, without exception, because it is a law of the mind. Because it is a law, we can take advantage of it. Enoch took advantage of that law and began to commune on the character of God and His love, and the result: “Communing thus with God, Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image. His face was radiant with a holy light, even the light that shineth in the face of Jesus. As he came forth from these divine communings, even the ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance.” Gospel Workers, 52. Would you like to have an experience like that? There will be some people in the last days who will have the same experience as Enoch. “While still on earth, he dwelt by faith in the realms of light. …

“For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of heart, that he might be in harmony with heaven. …

“To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch’s, so must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord’s second coming.” Ibid., 53, 54.

As human beings we make plans, have goals and objectives. I say this reverently, but God also makes plans, has goals, and has objectives. He has decided to demonstrate to the whole universe what He can do in human beings through the Holy Spirit if they will yield totally to Him. And He is going to do it in the last generation of people who are the weakest generation that there has ever been. That is a matter of prophecy. (Read Revelation 14:1–5.)

If we don’t have the experience, somebody else will take our place. There is a warning in the book of Revelation that says, “Don’t let somebody else take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

How can we have the same experience as Enoch? “God must be ever in our thoughts. We must hold converse with Him while we walk by the way, and while our hands are engaged in labor. In all the purposes and pursuits of life, we must inquire, ‘What will the Lord have me to do?’ ” The Review and Herald, May 30, 1882.

In other words, Enoch had a lot to do. He had a lot of responsibilities, but in the midst of all his work, whatever he was doing, he talked to the Lord about it. We have already seen how it had an effect on his countenance. It also had an effect on the way he spoke. “The love of Jesus always leads to Christian courtesy, refinement of language, and purity of expression that testify the company we are with—that like Enoch we are walking with God. There is no storming, no harshness, but a sweet fragrance in speech and in spirit.” That I May Know Him, 198.

No one will enter heaven who does not overcome the disposition to speak harshly and unkindly. Heaven has already been ruined once, and the angels that ruined it were cast out. God is not going to have heaven ruined again.

In researching the life of Enoch in the Spirit of Prophecy, it was amazing to find all that was written about imagination. In Genesis 6:5, notice what it says: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

It says in verse 11 that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, and this was a result of corrupt imaginations.

“A study on this subject will find that one of the principle ways the devil tempts men and women is through the imagination. Before a person engages in open sin of some kind, it has already been formulated in the imagination.

With regard to the imagination Mrs. White wrote, “They should not venture on forbidden ground, where Satan can claim control over them. If they in humility entreat God for purity of thought, and a refined and sanctified imagination, He will hear them, and grant their petitions. God has not left them to perish in their sins, but will help the weak and helpless, if they cast themselves in faith upon Him.” An Appeal to Mothers, 22, 23.

No one is going to enter heaven with a defiled, impure imagination. This appears to be one of the bigger problems many Christians have. “It is your duty to control your thoughts. You will have to war against a vain imagination. … You are responsible to God for the indulgence of vain thoughts.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 82. “In place of permitting the imagination to fill the mind with day-dreams and air-castles, let the soul cultivate the habit of contemplating the world’s Redeemer.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 7, 1894.

Those who do not have the prayer life and the meditations as Enoch did will never get control of their imagination. But once a prayer life has been developed, then the Lord will give you special help. People say, “I would like to be a Christian but I can’t. I can’t live up to what it says in the Bible.” That is very true. In fact, it is impossible, just as it was impossible for Peter to walk on water. But when the Holy Spirit takes control of your life, all things are possible. Then you can walk on water!

If the Holy Spirit is not holding you up, you are not going to stay up and will go down immediately. “We cannot keep ourselves from sin for one moment. Every moment we are dependent upon God.” The Ministry of Healing, 180. Enoch understood where to go for help and he communicated with the Lord at all times. The result was that he had power to control his carnal imagination and develop pure thoughts.

Enoch was not a hermit. He did not live in a cave somewhere separate from the rest of the world. But he did live separately from the concentrations of wickedness that were present in the world at that time. I am sure that we are all aware that there are some places that have concentrated wickedness. “A separation from the world is required of us, for we cannot remain free from its pollution unless we follow the example of the faithful Enoch.” God’s Amazing Grace, 304. Enoch chose to live away from the center of concentrated wickedness even though he was living in a depraved world. “God’s people will separate themselves from the unrighteous practices of those around them, and will seek for purity of thought, and holy conformity to His will, until His divine image will be reflected in them. Like Enoch, they will be fitting for translation to Heaven.” The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1879.

King David learned his lesson the hard way by falling into sin. But notice what he said: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes … .” Why did he say that? Because he knew that if he looked at sin, he would become like that in character. “I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.” Psalm 101:3, 4.

Enoch separated himself from the wickedness around him. “Those who follow the Lord are to be firm and straightforward in obeying His directions. Any deviation to follow human devising or planning disqualifies them for being trustworthy. Even if they have to walk as did Enoch—with God alone—His children must separate from those who do not obey Him, who show that they are not in vital connection with Him.” The Youth’s Instructor, April 28, 1898. To follow this counsel, even if they have to walk alone, is one of the great trials that sometimes happen to people who are trying to live for Jesus and be ready for His second coming. These people are scattered all over the world. I often meet people who say to me things like, “My husband [or my wife] doesn’t believe what I believe.” They are alone at home. “My children [or my parents or both] don’t believe what I believe …” so they are completely isolated at home. Others say, “There’s no church anywhere near where I am that is teaching and preaching the Three Angels’ Messages, and I work in a secular workplace, and I am all alone.”

I cannot explain why God allows different people to go through different trials. I have learned from reading my Bible that God allows people to be in situations where they have to develop a character, often alone. This is not some new experience. Enoch had it; he had to walk alone, but he decided that even if there was nobody else in the world who believed as he did, he would still believe.

While the Lord has been bringing revival and reformation to the second-advent movement, there have been some interesting experiences over the past few years. We have met people in various parts of the world who have been cast out of Adventist churches because they stood up for what they believed was right. They thought they were the only ones in the whole world trying to do what’s right, and we have encouraged them by telling them there are people scattered all over the world in the same situation.

Remaining in a church that is in open sin, that will not turn around, will cause you to be spiritually anesthetized. In time, you won’t even know it or be bothered, leaving you in a much worse condition than you were to start with. Enoch refused to compromise and was willing to walk alone.

No human being enjoys being alone. Even Jesus didn’t enjoy being alone although He had to walk alone His whole life. His mother didn’t understand Him. His earthly father didn’t understand Him. Neither did His brothers who criticized Him understand Him, making His childhood hard. His disciples didn’t understand Him, and even John the Baptist didn’t understand. There was nobody on earth who understood Him.

Enoch walked alone. He was the first to be translated, but while on earth he had to walk alone. Was it worth it? I think so, for Enoch is the oldest human being. He is over 5,000 years old right now. It was worth it!

While in vision, Ellen White had a conversation with Enoch: “There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated. On his right arm he bore a glorious palm, and on each leaf was written ‘Victory.’ Around his head was a dazzling white wreath, and leaves on the wreath, and in the middle of each leaf was written ‘Purity,’ and around the wreath were stones of various colors, that shone brighter than the stars, and cast a reflection upon the letters and magnified them. On the back part of his head was a bow that confined the wreath, and upon the bow was written ‘Holiness.’ Above the wreath was a lovely crown that shone brighter than the sun. I asked him if this was the place he was taken to from the earth. He said, ‘It is not; the city is my home, and I have come to visit this place.’ He moved about the place as if perfectly at home.” Early Writings, 40.

Enoch can go anywhere in the universe and visit places. Would you like to join him in some of those travels some day? Every time the devil tempts you because you have to stand alone, and it seems like nobody understands, it will not be forever. Enoch is not alone anymore. He has far more friends than any wicked man has ever had or will have.

In The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, 179, is written:

“We want, every one of us, to have an amiable disposition, and unless you have a sanctified, amiable disposition, you will lose heaven entirely.”

An amiable disposition is a part of somebody with whom it is easy to get along. There will not be anybody in heaven with whom it is hard to get along. If I’m going to go to heaven, I must develop an amiable disposition. “We do not glorify our Redeemer when we complain of the difficulties of the way, and murmur at the providences of God.” The Signs of the Times, February 3, 1888.

Enoch was involved in evangelism. He did not have a lot of success as far as converts were concerned, but he was still involved in it. Wherever he could find two or three people willing to listen to the word of God, he would teach them. He had very small congregations. “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’ ” Jude 14, 15.

Enoch gave warning to people who were living in sin. Some listened to the warning and renounced their sins, but the multitudes mocked and made fun of him. “The servants of God are to bear a similar message to the world in the last days, and it also will be received by the majority with unbelief and mockery. …

“Enoch, the witness of faith, held on his way, warning, pleading, and teaching, striving to turn back the tide of guilt and to stay the bolts of vengeance.” Gospel Workers, 53.

God revealed to Enoch that the wickedness on the earth was so great that a flood was coming. Because he knew what was coming, even though it was still several hundred years away, he tried to help the people get ready so they wouldn’t have to drown. His son, Methuselah, also warned the people of the coming judgment.

“By faith Enoch was taken away [translated] so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5. How could we have a testimony like that said about us?

“It is our privilege to carry with us the credentials of our faith—love, joy, and peace. When we do this, we shall be able to present the mighty arguments of the cross of Christ. When we learn to walk by faith and not by feeling, we shall have help from God just when we need it, and His peace will come into our hearts. It was this simple life of obedience and trust that Enoch lived. If we learn this lesson of simple trust, ours may be the testimony that he received, that he pleased God. Then instead of mourning and bitter repining, we shall make melody in our hearts to the Lord.” Historical Sketches, 133.

If we live a life of simple obedience and trust in the Lord, we can do the same.

“We are required to improve every day. Even in this world of sin and sorrow, we may, by earnest, persevering effort, rise to the highest spiritual efficiency. … We are to please God. This we may do; for Enoch pleased God, though living in a degenerate age.” Sons and Daughters of God, 314.

“Enoch walked with God and ‘had the testimony that his ways pleased God.’ This is the privilege of every believer today. It is man dwelling with God, and God taking up His abode with man. ‘I in them and you in Me’ [John 17:23].” The Upward Look, 228.

“In all the purposes and pursuits of life we must inquire, What will the Lord have me to do? How shall I please Him, Who has given His life a ransom for me? Thus may we walk with God, as did Enoch of old … .” Our High Calling, 61.

We can have that same experience today. In Ellen White’s day the world in general was optimistic. Because theologians and Christians are influenced by the world in which they live, they had theories of perfectionism and believed that you could just come to Christ and be perfect instantly. Perfectionism was a very popular teaching 150 years ago, but Ellen White said it was a fallacy.

Today, after two world wars, a big depression and all kinds of trouble worldwide that is increasing, everything has flipped. We are now living in a pessimistic age where people say nobody is perfect and they do not believe anybody can be. Christian perfection is a Biblical doctrine all through the New Testament, even though it is a very unpopular one in our time. Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 5:48 and Paul talks about it in almost every single epistle he wrote and also James and John make mention.

“We have fixed our minds upon the exceeding great and precious reward; and, in order to obtain it, we must have a perfect character. … Angels of God are weighing moral worth; and we are to obtain a fitness here to join the society of sinless angels. Do you expect that when Christ comes He will give you that fitness? Not at all. You must be found of Him without spot, without blemish, or wrinkle, or anything like it [Ephesians 5:25; 11 Peter 3:14]. Now is the watching and trying time. Now it is the time to obtain a preparation to abide the day of His coming, and to stand when He appeareth. Do you say that you cannot do it because around you are so much sin and iniquity and corruption? I refer you to Enoch.” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870.

Enoch did it. If we follow the same principles and the same way of life that he followed, we will have the same results. Remember his prayer life, his meditations, his evangelistic efforts, his disposition, his imagination, and the fact that he separated himself from the wickedness in the world, walking with God by living a life of simple obedience and trust.

When Jesus comes there will be a people that have the experience of Enoch, and they will be translated. We have been given the Spirit of Prophecy so we can have explicit instruction and know how to order our lives and be ready for Jesus to come. The Holy Spirit earnestly waits to purify our imagination, and give us the power to live the Christian life. You can become Christ-like.

The apostle John says that when Jesus comes we will be like Him (I John 3:2). May the Lord help us to have that same experience of Enoch.

[Bible texts quoted are NKJV translation.]

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Do Not Sleep as Do Others

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One of the first letters written by the apostle Paul and recorded in the New Testament gives a straightforward explanation concerning the state of the dead, and when Christians will be reunited with their loved ones who have died in Christ, yet many Christians still consider this a mystery.

While Paul was in Corinth ministering in evangelism, to provide himself with an income, he made tents in the evenings with his companions, Aquila and Priscilla. He was comforted by the arrival of two of his working companions, Silas and Timothy, who had come from Thessalonica with news of the newly formed church. Paul learned that there were people in this church who had fallen into mistaken ideas concerning those who had died after their conversion. They held the belief that they would all live to see the second coming of Christ and were perplexed when some of their friends had died, making it impossible for them to behold Christ coming in the clouds of heaven.

In addition, some of the people, who believed that Jesus’ coming would be soon, quit their employment to devote all of their time to being ready. This prompted the apostle Paul to write some very straight things to those who had stopped working. He said, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” II Thessalonians 3:10. This biblical counsel is still unpopular today amongst those who resign themselves to idleness, waiting for what will happen in the future.

Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica explained the true condition of a person in death. He said, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.” I Thessalonians 4:13. The sleep here mentioned was death. He then said, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” Verse 14.

“Those who sleep in Jesus” are those who believe the Christian faith but die before Jesus comes again. Paul continued, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.” Verse 15. The people who received this letter were greatly comforted when they understood that the righteous dead would rise from their graves to a holy, happy, immortal life and be reunited with their loved ones when Jesus returns.

The Thessalonians had eagerly grasped the idea that Jesus was coming to change the faithful who were alive and take them with Him, but they had forgotten what Paul had taught them about those who died. When they buried their friends, they remembered that all of their ancestors had been buried, and with anguish they looked on the face of their dead loved ones, not realizing that, because they were Christians, they had hope of a certain reunion again. What a joy to hear that, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” Verses 16–18.

It was clear that those who were alive at that time would not go to heaven before those who had fallen asleep, those who were dead in Christ. Notice that three times in this passage, as in the Old Testament where death is referred to as a sleep, Paul also uses this term. The epistle gave great hope and joy to this young church that had accepted the gospel. There were so many new and strange things to learn it is not surprising that they had forgotten some of the things they had been taught. But now, no longer did darkness enshroud the sepulcher of the dead. Their friends, who had fallen asleep in Jesus, would be resurrected from the grave at Jesus’ return and enjoy immortal life in the kingdom of God.

However, this passage talks only about the resurrection to immortal life being given to those who have fallen asleep and died in Christ. Are you in Christ, today? If you are in Christ, then whether you live or die, your eternal future is secure. Are you in Christ? Have you committed your life to Him? Is He your Lord and Saviour? Do you follow Him? Do you obey Him? Are you a Christian in character, or are you just a Christian by profession, not living like the Lord Jesus and following Him in your life?

Just as Christ was raised from the dead, Paul said, He will bring those who die in Christ with Him, to the kingdom of heaven. After this, the apostle Paul reminded them concerning events of the last days. In the very next verse he says, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you [because of previous instruction]. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” I Thessalonians 5:1–4.

There are many prophecies clearly pointing out the end time and when the last days will begin, but Paul warns that there will be many who will be caught unaware. He said we are not of the night, nor of the darkness. “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober.” Verses 6–8.

The Greek word translated sober means to not partake of any intoxicating drink. There are professed Christians today who see no wrong in drinking in moderation, but the Bible does not teach that. The New Testament does not teach that. Both Paul and Peter were very clear that a Christian preparing for the second coming of Christ would not use intoxicating drink. You cannot be both sober and intoxicated. Anyone who is partially intoxicated is not really sober. The sober Christians are watching what is taking place in the world and preparing for the future. Are you seeking to purify your life? Remember, the Bible says that, “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” I John 3:3. Are you purifying your life? Are you doing all in your power for the cause of God in the world?

It is predicted that the Christian who lives in the last days is going to have severe trials. Jesus, in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 and 21, said that perilous times will come. What shall we do because we are living in a world full of trials? Notice what Paul says: “We urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” I Thessalonians 5:12–15.

Many practical instructions were given at the close of Paul’s letter. “Pray without ceasing.” Verse 17. Always be in an attitude of prayer. He said, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” Verses 18–22.

It is time to follow those injunctions. It is time to abstain from every form of evil, be sober and watchful, for you do not want to be among those who are drunk in the night and not watching and be overtaken suddenly by an overwhelming surprise when it will be too late to be saved.

When Jesus comes again, you will either already be saved, or you will be lost. That is why Paul said to the Corinthians, “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” II Corinthians 6:2. Now is the time to make a decision that will result in having eternal life. It is the decision to commit your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and choose to follow Him in obedience. If you commit your life to Him, you will receive the Holy Spirit that will transform your life. This letter brought wonderful comfort, hope, joy and excitement to the Thessalonian church, as it still does today to all who believe.

Paul said, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:16, 17.

The “we” mentioned here refers to the people in the church who are alive when Jesus comes and who are ready to meet Him. Some of the people interpreted it to mean that Paul included himself as one of those who would live until Jesus came, which resulted in the necessity to write them another letter. In fact, there were some who quit working, saying, “The Lord’s going to come so soon, that we are not going to work.” Paul wrote very specifically about this to Timothy and said, “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I Timothy 5:8.

Paul had to address the whole issue of the second coming, and even today some Christians are mixed up on this. Some people say, “The apostles expected the Lord to come in their day in the first century.” No, they did not.

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul sought to correct the misapprehensions they had because of what he had said in his first letter about when the Day of the Lord would come. When would Jesus Christ come again and when would the believers be reunited with their dead loved ones? When would they leave this world and go to heaven?

The apostle Paul begins his letter by commending them for their faith: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.” II Thessalonians 1:3–10.

But then he goes on to talk to them about the coming of this day, the Day of the Lord that He has just described, when they would receive rest from all care and perplexities in this world. All persecutions of the Christians would be at an end. Those who died in Christ would be resurrected and taken with the living to heaven. They would be given immortality as you read in I Corinthians 15 or I Thessalonians 4. But then they were thinking it was going to happen very, very soon.

Paul says next: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come [or was at hand]. Let no one deceive you by any means.” II Thessalonians 2:1–3. Back in those days it was common to send forged letters in the names of important people, so Paul said, “If anybody tells, gives you a letter and says it’s from me; if anybody tells you that I said this, please know it’s not so. Don’t let anybody convince you that the Day of the Lord is just about here.” This is a very emphatic warning. He tells them to be careful. Don’t allow yourselves to be troubled or even think that the Day of the Lord is at hand, because it’s not going to happen right away.

He then says, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” Verse 3.

Now this man of sin, of course, is the antichrist. It says in verse 4, concerning him: “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God (that is the church), showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”

So, Paul says, “I have already instructed you. Remember what I instructed you about this.” Verse 5. The coming of Christ is not going to occur until after a great apostasy transpires in the Christian church and the antichrist is revealed. The word antichrist does not just mean somebody who is against Christ; it means somebody who stands in the place of Christ. The antichrist is going to arise in the church first. “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time [that is, the antichrist]. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way, and then the lawless one [the antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” Verses 6–8. That is a very interesting verse.

Some people believe that the antichrist is going to appear after the Lord comes. But this verse teaches us that when the Lord comes, the antichrist will already be here and will be destroyed when He comes. Study this passage in your Bible. The Bible then says, “The coming of the lawless one [that is the antichrist] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders [there will be miracles], and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Verses 9, 10.

These texts tell us that if you do not love the truth, you are going to be deceived.

God will never force anyone to believe or accept or follow the truth. God’s government allows freedom of choice. And He will never give you such overwhelming evidence that you will be forced to believe it against your will, but there is sufficient information, if you are willing to look at the weight of evidence. However, be warned that if you do not love the truth, you will be deceived.

How will it happen? “For this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie [the idea that a person can be saved in sin], that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Verses 11, 12.

The reason people do not believe the truth is stated here in this verse, because they are having “pleasure in unrighteousness.” All unrighteousness is sin (I John 5:17). Sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4). To have pleasure in unrighteousness means to have pleasure in sin or in breaking God’s law. This pleasure is temporary and will cost them their souls and eternal life.

If that is the situation in which you find yourself, won’t you repent so that you will have eternal life and not meet the destiny of those who delight in unrighteousness? Do not sleep as do others.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.